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Dr. VS Arunachalam is the Founder and Chairman of CSTEP. He has to his credit several contributions in the field of science and technology. His career as a scientist includes Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, National Aeronautical Laboratory in Bengaluru and Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory in Hyderabad. He was head of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) prior to serving as Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister, Government of India. Dr. Arunachalam is a Collaborating Professor, Engineering and Public Policy, at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh. He is a member of the Advisory and Editorial Boards of several universities and foundations including the Materials Research Society Bulletin.
He is also a recipient of several prestigious awards and honours, including the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Engineering Sciences. He was the first Indian to be elected Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, UK.[4] He was conferred the Padma Bhushan (1985) and the Padma Vibhushan (1990) for his contribution to Indian science.
In 2015, he was awarded Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO’s) lifetime achievement award for his outstanding contribution in the field of scientific research and technology.

Dr. Anshu Bharadwaj is the Executive Director of Centre for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP), Bengaluru and is also a member on the CSTEP Board. His research interests are in technology and policy options for India’s clean energy. He specialises in computational modelling of energy systems. He is a member of several committees at national and state levels and made important contributions in clean energy technology policy subjects. He is a former member of the Indian Administrative Services (IAS), (1992 batch - Karnataka) and worked with the Government of Karnataka in various capacities. He holds a Ph.D from the Departments of Engineering and Public Policy and Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University. He also has a B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur and a Management degree from the Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata.

Leadership

Dr. Jai Asundi

Dr. Jai Asundi is the Research Coordinator at the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy, Bangalore, India. He is involved in projects related to Energy, Climate Policy, Sanitation and Security. His research interests lie in the areas of information technology for development. He is working on the development of decisions support systems for a variety of public policy problems. He is a senior member of the IEEE. Prior to CSTEP, Dr. Asundi was faculty in Information Systems at the University of Texas at Dallas. He holds M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh.

Dr. Bellarmine

Dr. K.C. Bellarmine, Chief Financial Officer of CSTEP, holds a Ph.D. in Industrial Fisheries from Cochin University of Science and Technology. He has worked in the financial services sector for over two decades and has expertise in investment and corporate banking, structured financing and distressed assets. He has worked with ICICI Limited/ICICI Bank and has appraised and structured funding arrangements for several large and medium companies in a wide range of industries.

Raghavendra Rau

Raghavendra Rau holds a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering from Government of Andhra Pradesh and a Graduateship of Aeronautical Society of India. He has worked with the DRDO for more than three decades in technical staff functions, materials management and administration. At CSTEP, he is in-charge of administration, facilities and company affairs.

Dr. Mridula Dixit Bharadwaj

Dr. Mridula Dixit Bharadwaj holds a Post Doctorate degree in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and Ph.D. in Chemistry from Bangalore University. Prior to CSTEP, she worked with the United States Steel Corporation and General Motors Corporation (R&D). Her areas of interest include design of new materials and electrochemical technologies for applications in fields such as energy storage, corrosion prevention and metal industries. She works on new methodologies related to materials design for applications in high performance batteries and related systems. She is involved with the National Rare Earth Development Steering Committee activities constituted by the Ministry of Mines, Government of India, and also in the National Storage Technology Task Force conducted by the office of the Principal Scientific Advisor to Government of India.

Sujaya Rathi

Sujaya Rathi is a Principal Research Scientist at CSTEP and has over 17 years of experience in the field of integrated land use transportation research and planning in India and the USA. She is currently involved in the development of decision support tools for sanitation and transport. She is also working with the Department of Town and Country Planning, Government of Karnataka, as knowledge partner in the National Sustainable Habitat and Smart city Mission. She has helped the Planning Commission, Government of India to develop future development scenarios for India, based on systems analysis. She holds a Master's degree in Community and Regional Planning from Iowa State University, USA and another Master's degree in Economics from Jadavpur University, India. Her research interests include sustainable urban transport and systems approach to planning. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP).

Dr. Gaurav Kapoor

Dr. Gaurav Kapoor is a Principal Research Scientist involved in the domain of Security Studies at CSTEP. He holds a Ph.D. in Information Systems from the University of Florida. Professionally, he has over 3 years of experience in the Information Technology Industry and 2 years of experience in teaching at Business Schools.

Shrimoyee Bhattacharya

Shrimoyee Bhattacharya works as a Senior Research Scientist and holds a Master's degree in Urban and Rural Planning. She has over 8 years of professional experience in the areas of Urban Planning and Policy Advisory for Regional plans, and urban governance. She also has experience in training and capacity building for urban sector institutions.

Dr. Parveen Kumar

Dr Parveen Kumar, Senior Research Scientist, uses a computer simulation approach to explore the efficiency of cathode materials and electrolytes for energy storage devices at CSTEP. He worked as a Post Doctoral Fellow at the Indian Institute of Science and has received a Ph.D. from Jamia Millia Islamia University. He was a recipient of the DST Fast Track Young Scientist Grant in 2008-2011. He has over 7 years of post doctoral experience in the field of computer simulation. His research areas include chemical kinetics, colloidal systems, electrochemistry and molecular dynamics simulation.

Thirumalai N.C.

Thirumalai N.C. is a Senior Research Scientist involved in the domain of solar thermal system design and experimental aerodynamics at CSTEP. He holds a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering. He has over 9 years of experience in the field of R&D.

Sandhya Sundararagavan

Sandhya Sundararagavan holds a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA and a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Pune. Her areas of expertise include Renewable energy, Demand side management, Distribution sector and Power sector policy research. At CSTEP, she works on projects in Grid integration, Smart grid, Electric vehicles and Integrated resource planning.

Saptak Ghosh

Saptak Ghosh is a Senior Research Engineer working with the Energy team at CSTEP. He has been working on projects concerning solar photovoltaics and integrated waste management frameworks for India. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from RV College of Engineering, Bangalore and a Master's degree from TU Delft. He has previously worked at Infosys Technologies Ltd. His core competencies lie in the fields of solar photovoltaic applications, sustainable waste management infrastructures, inclusive low carbon growth, and design of innovative renewable energy systems and formulation of policies for renewable energy.

Vivek Vaidyanathan

Vivek Vaidyanathan is a Research Scientist working on urban infrastructure related projects. He holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D from TU Delft, Netherlands. He has close to 10 years of work experience in urban governance, institutional economics and urban transport planning.

Dr. Pratima Singh

Dr. Pratima Singh holds a Doctoral Degree in Natural Resources (Energy and Environment) from TERI University, New Delhi. Her doctoral research was on “Energy use and GHG emission analysis of urban wastewater infrastructure and scoping for use of renewable energy resources”. Her work focused on different forms of energy consumption and GHG emissions estimation for urban wastewater infrastructure. Prior to joining the Doctoral programme, Pratima worked as a Resource Scientist with Compusense Automation, in Ahmedabad and as Project Manager with Gujarat Council of Science and Technology (GUJCOST) – DST, Government of Gujarat. During the course of her Doctoral programme, she handled the responsibilities of Programme Associate for an e-learning programme called ProSPER.Net (UNU-IAS). She also worked as a Project Associate for APN funded water-energy-carbon nexus project at TERI University. Pratima has been a recipient of the Senior Research Fellowship from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) for her Doctoral research and honorary Senior Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham, U.K. Her research areas include energy and GHG estimation, renewable energy (solar PV), centralised and decentralised systems, and water and wastewater infrastructure. Her research interests lie in field of energy, environment and policy aspect for sustainable development.

Dr. C P Anil Kumar

C.P. Anil Kumar holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics from The Institute of Mathematical Sciences (Chennai), Master of Science in Mathematics from The Ohio State University (USA) and an Integrated MSc. (5 year course) in Mathematics from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. Prior to joining CSTEP, Anil Kumar worked at the Indian Statistical Institute (Bengaluru) and Infosys Technology Ltd (India), for 7 years.
His research interests lie in the areas of Geometry, Number Theory, Combinatorics, Algebra and Representation Theory.

Nilalohita Panigrahi

Nilalohita Panigrahi completed his M.Tech in Information Technology from IIIT, Bangalore and comes with 9 years of experience in the IT sector. Prior to joining CSTEP, Nilalohita worked at HCL Technologies, SAP Labs India, Glomantra e-Services and redBus.in. His interests lie in the areas of coding, algorithm and development of usable software.

Staff

Abhijeet Kar

Abhijeet Kar holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism from The Times School Of Journalism, New Delhi and a Bachelor’s degree in Media Science (Hons) from West Bengal University of Technology. Prior to joining CSTEP, Abhijeet has worked with ANM NEWS Kolkata, Zee Entertainment Network, Netscribes Kolkata, Doordarshan News Kolkata and CINI, for 6 years. His areas of interest include policy making processes, climate change impact and digital communication.

Abhijit Madhukar Potdar

Abhijit Madhukar Potdar holds an M.Tech degree in Power Systems from the College of Engineering, Pune. His areas of interest include Power System Analysis, Stability, Renewable Energy Integration with Grid, WAMS, PMUs and Protection.

Aklavya Sharan

Aklavya Sharan has completed his MBA in Project Management from Sikkim Manipal University. Prior to joining CSTEP, Aklavya worked at the Decentralised Energy Systems India Pvt. Ltd. and NETPRO Renewable Energy, for 19 years. His research interests lie in the areas of project development work, business development activities and working on new technologies.

Ananth Hegde

Ananth Hegde holds a Master’s degree in Information Technology from IIIT-Bangalore and has over 4 years of work experience. Prior to joining CSTEP, he worked with Cognizant and Tyfone Inc. His interests lie in software engineering, application architectures and databases.

Anantha Lakshmi P

Anantha Lakshmi P is a Senior Research Engineer working in the Infrastructure domain at CSTEP. She holds a Master’s degree in Transportation Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. She is interested in transportation planning, policy analysis and public transport and non-motorised planning.

Anirban Banerjee

Anirban Banerjee holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics & Telecommunication from Shivaji University, Kolhapur. Prior to joining CSTEP, Anirban worked at the Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, IISc. for 5 years. His research interests lie in the areas of monsoon prediction and analysis, climate modelling and forecasting techniques.

Anuradha Venkatesh

Anuradha Venkatesh holds a Master’s degree in Energy Management from the University of Stirling, UK. Prior to joining CSTEP, she worked in research consultancy projects dealing with energy storage and waste management. Her research interests lie in energy economics and climate change studies, with a focus on policy.

Arjun Shanker

Arjun Shaker holds a Master of Science degree (B.Sc & M.Sc Dual Degree) in Biotechnology from Vellore Institute of Technology and Master of Science in Agribusiness from Texas A&M University. Prior to joining CSTEP, Arjun worked at an International Fund for Agricultural Development aided project in Uttarakhand.

Arushi Sen

Arushi Sen completed her Master's degree in Global Studies from the University of Leipzig, Germany and University of Wroclaw, Poland. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Journalism from Lady Sriram College, Delhi. Prior to joining CSTEP, she was associated with IORA Ecological Solutions, Delhi, as Manager – Communications. Her areas of interest include strategic communication, editing, social media engagement, event management and studying the intersection of communication, Think Tanks and public policy.

Ashish Nigam

Ashish Nigam is a Research Engineer involved in the assessment studies for offshore wind energy projects at CSTEP. He holds a Master’s degree in Energy & Environment from Lancaster University, UK and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance from FLAME, Pune. His professional experience includes being a consultant for corporate sustainability.

Ashray Udaya Shankar

Ashray Udaya Shankar holds a Master’s degree in Computational Engineering from FAU Erlangen, Germany. He completed his B.E in Mechanical Engineering from Visvesvaraya Technological University. His research interests lie in the areas of solar energy and policy analysis.

Aswathy KP

Aswathy has completed M Tech in Civil Engineering with specialisation in Traffic and Transportation Planning from National Institute of Technology, Calicut. She previously worked as a Project Assistant at Centre for infrastructure, Sustainable Transportation and Urban Planning (CiSTUP, IISc Bangalore), for 1 year. Her areas of interest include bus travel time prediction and traffic simulation.

Badri Shanmukeshwara Rao

Badri S. Rao is a Senior Research Engineer working on the techno-economic and policy assessment of Concentrated Solar Power Technologies in India at CSTEP. He holds a Master's degree in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras and a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Gayatri Vidya Parisad College of Engineering, Visakhapatnam. His research areas include mathematical modelling, process modelling and simulation and computational fluid dynamics.

Bharath R

Bharath R. is currently pursuing his Master’s degree in Computer Science from the Bangalore Institute of Technology. He has completed his Bachelors in Computer Science from Visvesvaraya Technological University. He has joined CSTEP as an Intern. His interests lie in data mining concepts, technical-database (SQL), Web (html, html5) and core java.

Bhupesh Verma

Bhupesh Verma is a Senior Research Analyst working in the wind energy domain at CSTEP. He holds an MBA in Biotechnology and Marketing from Shoolini University of Management Sciences, Himachal Pradesh and a Bachelor's degree in Biotechnology from Himachal Pradesh University. His research interests lie in environmental science.

Debapriya Das

Debapriya Das is a Senior Research Economist working on urban poverty and the Indian energy scenario at CSTEP. She holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research. She has to her credit publications on several topics.

Deepu Ramachar

Deepu Ramachar holds a Master’s degree in Computer Application from KNS Institute of Technology, Bangalore and a BSc. from Bangalore University. She has previously worked as an Intern at Unisys Global Services as a software engineer. She has got seven months of experience as an Asp.net Software Programmer from Ziac Software Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore. She has joined CSTEP as an Intern. Her interests lie in database management and web application development.

Dr. Sujatha Byravan

Dr. Sujatha Byravan's broad areas of interest are science, technology and policy. Over the past several years she has been working on specific aspects of global climate change policy and also climate change policy in India. In CSTEP she works on national climate change policy, adaptation and peri-urban resilience and development.
Dr. Byravan has about two decades of experience in the broad area of sustainable development, which is bolstered by her technical background and education in biology. Her Ph.D. was followed by a training fellowship from the Rockefeller Foundation in leadership and environment and development and a leadership position as the main architect and Fellows Program Director in an international environment and development organisation. She was later President of a US-based non-profit organisation working on the social and ethical impacts of biotechnology, including policy research, advocacy and education. She has to her credit several publications and has been the recipient of numerous awards including a Residential Fellowship from the Bellagio Center in Italy.

Epica Mandal Sarkar

Epica Mandal Sarkar has completed an M.E in Chemical Engineering from Jadavpur University Kolkata, West Bengal and her B.Tech in Chemical Engineering from West Bengal University of Technology. Prior to joining CSTEP, Epica worked as Project Assistant at Jadavpur University. Her areas of interest include Renewable energy, Material flow analysis and Process optimisation.

Gayathri Muralidharan

Gayathri Muralidharan holds a Master’s degree in Regional Planning from School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi. Prior to joining CSTEP she worked at Egis Geoplan Pvt. Ltd. Her areas of interest include study of issues in urban development and in providing sustainable & smart solutions for the same.

Gopal Berry

Gopal Berry graduated in Commerce from EIILM (Eastern Institute for Integrated Learning in Management) Gurgaon. Prior to joining CSTEP, Gopal worked with IHDP Business Park, Shahi Exports Pvt. Ltd, Sharda Exports and Hem Stich India for 12 years. His interests lie in the areas of vendor management and implementing new ideas for organisational development.

Harikrishna K V

Harikrishna K.V. holds a Master’s degree in Power and Energy Systems from Bangalore University. With over 6 years of work experience, he has worked with Power Research & Development Consultants, Central Power Research Institute and Energy Economy & Environmental Consultants, prior to joining CSTEP. His research interests lie in power plants - grid connectivity studies and power system planning studies.

Harshid Sridhar

Harshid Sridhar is a Senior Research Engineer working in the areas of power systems and distributed energy systems. He holds a Master’s degree in Engineering (Power and Energy Systems) from Arizona State University, USA, and a Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering from Anna University. Prior to joining CSTEP, Harshid worked as a 'Project Associate' at the Central Power Research Institute, Bangalore where he was involved in projects related to power systems and grid-integrated solar PV.

Jaymin Gajjar

Jaymin has completed his M.Tech in Energy System & Technologies from Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, Gandhinagar, Gujarat and a B.Tech (Electronics & Communication) from Gujarat University. Prior to joining CSTEP, he worked with Gujarat Energy Research & Management Institute (GERMI) for 2 years. His areas of interest include designing, modelling & simulation of Solar PV & Thermal Power Plants & estimating the potential of solar plants.

Kaveri Ashok

Kaveri Ashok holds a Master’s in Nuclear Science and Technology from Delhi University and a Post Graduate degree in Physics from Delhi University. Prior to joining CSTEP, Kaveri worked at NIAS for 2.3 years. Her research interests lie in the areas of nuclear safety and security.

Kavitha

Kavitha holds a PGDBA in HR/IR from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bangalore and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Journalism and English Literature from Mount Carmel College, Bangalore. She has previously worked as Manager-Human Resources for Digi International (a wi-fi product development company), Webcetera (an Insurance product development company), AT&T, Tata Business Support Services, L&T Infotech and Kamat Group.

Mahesh Kumar

Mahesh Kumar is currently pursuing CA from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Bangalore. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Commerce from Bangalore University. He has previously worked as an Accounts Manager at Online Instruments India Pvt. Ltd and has 8 years of experience in the areas of accounts and audits. He has joined CSTEP as an Associate Accounts. His interests lie in accounting and audits.

Manjunatha E.

Manjunatha Eshwar, Associate – Finance, handles Finance and Accounts at CSTEP. He is a graduate in Commerce from Dr. CV Raman University and received his Master of Business Administration (Finance) from Karnataka State Open University. He has more than nine years of professional experience and has previously served in the Accounts and Finance departments of various development and corporate organisations. His areas of expertise include Tally 7.2 & Tally.ERP 9 (accounting software) & Folklore Payroll Software (payroll/salary).

Marisa Yesudas

Noelene Marisa Yesudas completed her Post Graduation in Urban and Regional Planning from CEPT University, Ahmedabad and Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from M.S Ramiah School of Architecture, Bangalore. Prior to joining CSTEP, Marisa worked at the Centre of Excellence in Urban Transport (CoE-UT) for 1 year. Her research interests lie in the areas of land-use and transport integration, street design and built environment, and travel behaviour studies.

Merlin Francis

Merlin Francis holds a Master’s degree in Communication from Christ University, Bangalore. Prior to joining CSTEP, she worked with The New Indian Express and Times of India for 5 years. She is interested in the reading and writing about transport and urban sustainability, governance, education, crime and internal security.

Milind Ravindranath

Milind has completed MSc. (Engg) in Computational Science from IISc Bangalore and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from NITK, Surathkal. He has worked as a Visiting Scholar at Carleton University, Ottawa on circuit simulation under the Canadian Commonwealth Scholarship Programme.At CSTEP, he is working on DSTSERI project.

Murali Ramakrishnan

Murali Ramakrishnan, Senior Research Analyst, holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. He has a Bachelor’s in Computer Science from Anna University, Tamil Nadu. He has previously worked with CSTEP as a research engineer for over four years and was involved in energy efficiency related projects. His research interests lie in energy efficiency, green energy and energy economics.

Neetha G.

G. A. Neetha is an Associate - Finance and is pursuing her Masters in Commerce from Kuvempu University, Bengaluru. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Commerce from Kuvempu University. She has 6.5 years of prior experience in Accounts and Finance/Administration/Social Media Optimisation and Social Media Marketing.

Nikhilesh Dharmala

Nikhilesh Dharmala holds a Master’s degree in Sustainable Energy Engineering from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden and a Bachelor of technology degree in Mechanical Engineering from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad. Prior to joining CSTEP, Nikhilesh worked at Selco Foundation for 2 years. He enjoys exploring the challenges to transition from a fossil fuel based economy to sustainable energy based economy through a systems approach in a developing country context like India from an energy and environment sector perspective.

Pareexit Chauhan

Pareexit Chauhan, GIS Analyst, completed his Master's in Geoinformatics from Symbiosis International University, Pune. He has done his Bachelor's in Geography from M.S University, Vadodara. He has worked in Jana Urban Space Foundation as a GIS Intern. His areas of interest include geographical analysis of map, 3D modelling etc. He has joined the IT- team as a GIS Analyst in CSTEP.

Pradeep Reddy

Pradeep Reddy completed his M.Tech in Power Systems from Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati and B.Tech in Electrical & Electronics Engineering from JNTU, Anantapur. Prior to joining CSTEP, Pradeep worked at REC Power Distribution Company Ltd. as an Electrical Site Engineer for 1 year. His areas of interest include doing research in power systems. Pradeep is a native of Andhra Pradesh. Apart from work, he enjoys dancing, playing cricket and drama.

Pratah Jain

Pratah Jain has completed her Bachelor of Science from Mount Carmel College, Bangalore and MCA from Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering, Mysore. She also holds an Executive MBA from the Indian Institute of Business Management. With over 17 years of experience, Pratah has worked with Infosys Technologies Ltd, Tech Mahindra, Pitney Bowes Business Insight (PBBI) and Zero Pest Solutions.

Pratima Bisen

Pratima Bisen holds a Bachelor’s degree in English (Honours) from Sri Venkateswara College of Delhi University, PGDM (Post Graduate Diploma in Management) from IIPM, New Delhi and Advanced Post Graduate Diploma in Renewable Energy from TERI. She has worked with KanORS-EMR (Energy Modelling & Research), Innovation Norway (Royal Norwegian Embassy) , Italian Trade Commission, for 20 years. Her research interests lie in the areas of energy policies (INDC) and energy technology data (cost and efficiency of sun rise technology).

Ragasudha

Ragasudha, Associate HR, holds an MBA in HR from the Bharathiar University, Coimbatore and a Bachelor’s degree in Science from Sri Krishnadevaraya University, Andhra Pradesh. She has previously worked at Centum Electronics Pvt Ltd and has eight years of experience in the field of HR. Her interests lie in payroll and recruitment.

Rakesh Rajpurohit

Rakesh Rajpurohit has completed his M.Tech in Computer Science from IIIT Bangalore and B.Tech in Computer Science from Rajasthan University. Prior to joining CSTEP, Rakesh worked at Azul Systems and Siemens, for 2.5 years.

Ramya Natarajan

Ramya Natarajan holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. She completed B.E in Biotechnology from Anna University. Prior to joining CSTEP, Ramya worked at the Indiana University in Bloomington and Energy Research Institute, NTU, Singapore for 6 years. Her research interests lie in the areas of 3rd and 4th generation biofuels with a soft corner for algae-based fuels.

Ranganathan P.

P. Ranganathan, Principal Member-Technical Staff , holds a degrees in Commerce and Computer Science and has worked for over 15 years in the IT Industry with vast experience in handling diversified projects on web and client-server. Prior to CSTEP, he was associated with Xsysys Technologies Pvt. Ltd., and Surya Soft-Tech Limited. His core competency lies in Web technologies such as ASP.NET, PHP and client-server technologies with programming languages such as Visual Basic, .Net, C#.

Rekha N.

Rekha N., Admin Officer, works as a member of the Admin. team and is responsible for assisting the Executive Director and coordinate administrative activities at CSTEP. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Science and has over 16 years of work experience.

Rishu Garg

Rishu Garg has completed MBA in Power management from the National Power Training Institute (NPTI), MDU, Haryana and a B.Tech (Electrical) from Punjab Technical University (PTU), Punjab. She previously worked with GMR Group in Energy-Strategic Planning Group (SPG) and Transmission (Regulatory) for 6 years. Her areas of interest include Strategy and planning, Regulatory, Enterprise risk management (ERM) in power sector.

Riya Rachel

Riya Rachel Mohan has completed her Master's degree in Energy and Environmental Engineering from VIT University, Vellore, Tamil Nadu and holds a Bachelor's degree in Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering from University of Kerala. She has about 4 years experience in carbon financed renewable energy projects in the field of wind, hydro, solar and biomass. Her area of interests lie in the domain of energy efficiency and low carbon projects.

Roopa N.

Roopa N., Admin Officer, is in-charge of all secretarial duties to the Chairman and assists the HR Department with Recruitment Process, and the Communication and Policy Engagement team with outreach activities at CSTEP. She holds a Science degree and has done certificate courses in Computation and Technical Writing. She carries more than a decade of experience in managing and coordinating day-to-day activities of a research organisation. She has worked at the Indian Institute of Science as secretary to Chairman at the Centre for Ecological Sciences for eleven years.

Roshna N

Roshna N holds a Master's Degree in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. Her areas of interest include the study of non-Newtonian fluids-granular materials, purification of waste water containing heavy metals using sugarcane bagasse, experimental studies of flow of rice, glass beads through vertical channel, mass & heat balances of a production unit.

Dr. Shradha Mathur

Shradha has completed her Doctorate and Masters in Psychology from the University of Delhi. Prior to joining CSTEP, Shradha worked at Defence Institute of Psychological Research (DRDO in Delhi), Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi and worked as a Freelance Researcher on sanitation. Her research interests lie in the areas of sustainable development, health and psychology.

Shiva Sandeep Reddy P.

Shiva Sandeep Reddy P. is Engineer-Technical Staff and handles the IT Infrastructure at CSTEP. He holds a Bachelor's in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Sri Vishveshwaraiah Institute of Science and Technology, Madanapalle.

Shivaprasad N.S.

Shiva Prasad N., Manager-Finance, works in the Finance and Accounts team and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Bangalore University. He has several years of experience in Finance, Accounts and Audit. He works in the area of Payments, Accounting and Tax Compliance.

Shramana Dey

Shramana Dey holds a Master’s degree in Sustainable Management of Pollution from the Catholic University of Lille, France and a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from BITS Dubai. Prior to joining the Master’s programme, she worked at CSTEP on sanitation related studies, as an intern. Her research interests lie in waste water treatment, phytoremediation and ecotoxicology.

Shruthi S

Shruthi S. completed M.Tech in Transportation Engineering and Management from BMS College of Engineering, Vishveshwariah Technological University. Prior to joining CSTEP, Shruthi has worked at the Directorate of Urban Land Transport, Wilbur Smith Associates, GEP Infrastructure and TTIC for 10 years. Her research interests lie in public transport studies, transport modelling, traffic engineering and parking studies.

Shweta Srinivasan

Shweta Srinivasan is a Senior Research Analyst and holds a Master's degree in Science, Society and Development from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex and a Bachelor’s in Journalism and Mass Communication. At CSTEP, she works on policy research in low carbon energy policy and co-benefits approach for mainstreaming climate mitigation interventions in state and national policies as well as energy systems modelling. She is interested in water resource modelling, governance of water and energy systems, equity analysis and resource access.

Sonali Anusree

Sonali has completed her Bachelor's in Architecture from College of Engineering, Bhubaneshwar and completed her Master's in Planning with specialisation in Environmental Planning from CEPT, Ahemdabad. She has gained architectural experience during her B.Arch training from Anindiya Basu & Associates, Kolkata and Masters training from CiSTUP (Centre for Infrastructure, Sustainable Transport &Urban Planning) IISc, Bangalore. She is interested in working on issues related to sustainable development.

Suhas Bannur

Suhas Bannur completed his M.S in Mechanical Engineering from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. His areas of interest include Solar Thermal, Fluid Mechanical Heat Transfer, Thermodynamics and New Product Development.

Suresh N.S.

Suresh N.S., Senior Research Engineer, holds a Master's degree in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. He is a B.Tech in Chemical Engineering from Sri Venkateswara University. His research interests lie in renewable energy, conventional energy and emerging technologies. His expertise includes conceptual design, process modelling and simulation, optimisation and techno-economic and sustainability assessment studies.

Tanmay Sarkar

Tanmay Sarkar is a Senior Research Engineer working with the materials group on the theoretical study of cathode materials in batteries using DFT simulations at CSTEP. He holds a Master's degree in Metallurgical and Material Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur and a Bachelor's degree from Jadavpur University, Kolkata. His area of interest lies in renewable energy.

V. Ramanaidu Merla

V. Ramanaidu Merla is a Senior Engineer-Technical Staff and manages the IT Infrastructure activities and maintains all IT related assets at CSTEP. His educational qualification includes B.Tech, CCNA and MCSE. He has over 4.5 years of professional experience.

Vaishalee Dash

Vaishalee Dash, Senior Research Engineer, is working on assessing different uses of solar energy for off-grid applications and life cycle analysis of new solar cell materials at CSTEP. She holds a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering from IIT, Kharagpur. Her work has been published by both national and international journals.

Venkatesh Vunnam

V. Venkatesh, Senior Research Engineer, works on determining energy demand and supply and efficiency for manufacturing industries at CSTEP. He holds a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. His interests are in industrial energy efficiency, low carbon roadmap studies and renewable energy solutions. He has experience in design and simulation using the Aspen software.

Vishu Mishra

Vishu Mishra has completed Engineering in Electrical & Electronics from MIT, Manipal. He previously worked with Bhushan Steel , ETA-Dubai, for 2 Years. His areas of interest include blogging, publishing & creative writing.

Vivek B Rao

Yeshika Malik

Yeshika Malik, Research Economist, holds a Master of Science degree in Economics from the University of Edinburgh, U.K. and a Bachelor’s degree from Banasthali University, Rajasthan. Prior to joining CSTEP, she has worked as a Consultant with the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog. Her research interests lie in the areas of energy, environment, data analysis, public policy and planning.

Yuvaraja S K

Yuvaraja S K has completed his Masters in Digital Electronics from Visvesvaraya Technological University, Karnataka. He worked as an intern at BSNL - Dept. of FTTH, Bengaluru. His areas of interest include solar vehicles.

Advisors

Prof. Chandrasekaran VS

Prof. V.S. Chandrasekaran holds a Ph.D. from the University of Liverpool. He has recently been awarded Professor Emeritus by IIT Bombay, Mumbai for his outstanding contributions made to IIT Bombay. Prior to CSTEP, he served as the head of the Civil Engineering Department and also was the head of the Centre of Studies in Resources Engineering at IIT, Mumbai. He was the Principal Investigator of Geotechnical Centrifuge Project and established the Nation Geotechnical Centrifuge Facility at IIT, Mumbai. This indigenously built (250 g-ton capacity) centrifuge is the only such facility in India and caters to the needs of research and industry. His research interests include offshore structures and solar radiation mapping.

Prof. Ramaswamy M A

Prof. M.A. Ramaswamy holds a Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology. Prior to CSTEP he worked at Aerodynamics Division of National Aerospace Laboratories for more than 25 years and was head of the division for more than 20 years. He played a major role in the design and setting up of 1.2m*1.2m High speed Blow-down Wind Tunnel where aerospace models can be tested up to Mach 4 (4 times the speed of the sound). He was a faculty at IISc in the Aerospace department. He has been a consultant to numerous prestigious institutions. At CSTEP, he works on various technical aspects of Concentrated Solar Thermal Systems.

Prof. Rajgopal S

Prof. Rajgopal is a graduate of the College of Engineering, Guindy and Post Graduate Diploma in Systems Management from Jamnalal Institute of Management, Mumbai. He has worked with the Neyveli Lignite Corporation, Department of Atomic Energy and served as Secretary, Atomic Energy Commission and Controller, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. He headed the technical liaison mission in Paris after being a fellow of IAEA at South West Research Institute, US. He was a visiting professor and Dean at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bangalore

Dr. Amit Kanudia

Dr. Amit Kanudia is a Partner at KanORS-EMR, Noida, India. He holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. His expertise lies in optimisation of models for techno-economic analysis of energy-environment systems in the context of climate change and data handling systems for such models. He has to his credit several publications.

S V Narasimhan

S.V. Narasimhan is a Retired Scientist ‘G’ from DRDO (under the Ministry of Defence). He has worked at the Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE), Bangalore from May 1972 until retirement and has held various designations in the organisation. He retired as Project Director (Kaveri) from the Light Combat Aircraft programme. He has several years of experience in fabrication and machining activities of Aero Gas Turbine Engine Parts, and manufacturing of automobiles for Flight Standard Application. As Project Director (Kaveri) he led a team of scientists to design, develop, and assemble 4-5 variants of engines for Flight Standard Application. These engines and modules have been tested at HAL, within GTRE rigs, and abroad for performance evaluation prior to testing at the High Altitude Test Facility at Russia.

Dr. Krishnan S S

Dr. S.S. Krishnan holds a Ph.D. and a Master's in Computer and Systems Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Prior to CSTEP, he worked with the Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University and has worked extensively on major collaborative projects with Indian and global entities in the modelling, analysis and policy aspects of energy efficiency, low carbon growth and industrial manufacturing. He works on various studies in the context of national goals represented by India’s voluntary commitments to reduce the intensity of its carbon emissions under the National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency and the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, which are under the Prime Minister’s National Action Plan on Climate Change. He works closely with several industrial bodies, several committees supporting the formulation of India’s XII Plan, and the Planning Commission’s Low Carbon Expert Committee of the Government of India. Dr. Krishnan has been invited to make presentations at several conferences organised by national and international institutions.

Ravi Lepakshi

Mr. Ravi Lepakshi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the Visvesvaraya College Of Engineering, Bangalore. He has over 35 years of professional experience and has worked with KPTCL and BESCOM. His expertise lie in the areas of Distribution Automation System, Cables and Smart Grid. He is a member of the Institution of Engineers, India. Prior to joining CSTEP, between 2008-2011, he was a Director on the Board of KPTCL, BESCOM, CESC, MESCOM, HESCOM & GESCOM by virtue of being the President of KEB Engineers Association. At CSTEP, he is working on smart grid projects.

Prof. L V Krishnan

Professor L.V. Krishnan graduated in Physics with an Honors Degree from Presidency College, Chennai and joined the Department of Atomic Energy in 1958. He attended the Training School of the then Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay, graduated in 1959 and joined the Health Physics Division of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. He specialised in Safety Analysis of Nuclear Facilities at the Oak Ridge School of Reactor Technology, US. Following this he worked on 'fast breeder reactor safety aspects' from 1969-70 at the Cadarache Research Centre, France. He was instrumental in establishing the Safety Research Laboratory at Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam and tested an Emergency Preparedness Plan for the plant. He retired from IGCAR as Director of the Safety Research and Health Physics Programmes.

Prof. Umesh Waghmare

Professor Umesh Waghmare is currently Professor in the Theoretical Sciences Unit of Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bangalore. He obtained his doctorate degree in applied physics in 1996 from Yale University, and did postdoctoral research in Harvard University (1996-2000). He has held faculty positions (2005-2009) in JNCASR before becoming a Full Professor in 2009. His national honours and awards include Fellowship of Indian Academy of Science, S.S. Bhatnagar Prize, B.M. Birla Science Prize, J.C. Bose National Fellowship, Materials Society of India Medal, among others. Prof. Waghmare was awarded the Infosys prize in Engineering and Computer Science in 2015 for his innovative use of first-principles theories and modelling in insightful investigations of microscopic mechanisms responsible for specific properties of specific materials such as topological insulators, ferroelectrics, multiferroics and graphene. Prof. Waghmare has provided a much needed bridging between the microscopic details of a material and its properties at various length and time scales by using systematic hierarchical modeling strategies, especially for topological insulators, smart multi-functional materials and nano-materials. Prof. Waghmare has made original contributions to fundamental physics of materials besides providing deep insights into the electronic and magnetic behaviour of novel materials.

Dr. Sarath Guttikunda

Dr.Sarath Guttikunda is a TED Fellow, founder of UrbanEmissions.Info (UEinfo, India), and an affiliate associate professor at Desert Research Institute (Reno, USA). His main research interest is analysis of urban emissions at local, regional, and global scales and finding ways to bridge the gap between science, policy, and public awareness. He is the developer of the SIM-air (Simple Interactive Models for Better Air Quality) family of tools, dedicated to sharing information on air pollution and climate change, with applications in cities such as Delhi, Pune, Chennai, Patna, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Dhaka, Bangkok, Manila, Hanoi, Ulaanbaatar, Lagos, Nairobi, Lusaka, and Tana. In 2016, UEinfo was responsible for launching public portals DelhiAirQuality.Info and IndiaAirQuality.Info, disseminating high resolution forecasts of air quality and source contributions for the next 3 days; and other information related to air quality in Delhi and India. Dr. Guttikunda received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Iowa (2002), and holds a bachelors degree in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (1997).

Ashish Srivastava

Ashish Srivastava has 27 years of experience in the IT industry. During this time, he has managed global IT businesses, directed rollout of many complex large programmes and even headed an IT Product Company. He is considered a Telecom Domain specialist and an adept Enterprise Architect. He has personally led initiatives involving state-of-the art technologies like AI and IoT. For the last few years, Ashish has been providing ICT consulting and leadership on large solutions for society, such as e-Governance and energy optimisation. Ashish holds an Engineering degree from IIT, BHU and PG Certificate degree in Economics from the University of London.

Interns

Aditya Kaundinya

Aditya Kaundinya holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Colorado, USA and Post Graduate Diploma in Management from Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta. His research interests lie in the areas of water and energy analysis/modelling.

Kartik Akhoon

Kartik Akhoon has completed his integrated Bachelor of Science and Master of Science (in Materials Science) from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. His research interests lie in the areas of renewable energy, climate change and sustainability.

Rajat Verma

Rajat Verma is presently pursuing a Ph. D. in Economics from the Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore, affiliated with University of Mysore. He holds a Post Graduate degree in Economics from TERI University, Delhi. Prior to joining CSTEP, Rajat worked as a faculty at various colleges in University of Delhi. His research interests lie in environmental, public and international economics. He also specialises in Input-Output and SAM Analysis.